Livonia Democrats open permanent office

Livonia Democratic Club President Karl Burnett in the club's new permanent office on Schoolcraft. Burnett said this is the first time the club has opened a permanent office in the city.(Photo11: David Veselenak)

Livonia may be a Republican-voting town, but that doesn't mean the city's Democratic Club doesn't see an opportunity to turn the city blue.

That's one reason the Livonia Democratic Club has decided to open a permanent office in the city, something club President R. Karl Burnett said hasn't happened before.

"All that we're doing here is intended to give people in this and surrounding communities an opportunity to have a base of operations we don't think voters have had around here for a long time, ever," he said.

The club has opened an office in a building at 33150 Schoolcraft, just east of Farmington Road. The office will be used for several functions, including e-board meetings and other party events, especially leading up to the 2018 off-year elections next year.

Burnett said while the city does vote Republican overall in most instances, he's starting to see a possibility of a change in the voter landscape in the city. He said it's different scene now compared to when part of Livonia was in the old 2nd Congressional district in the 1980s and early 1990s, a district that spanned from northwest Wayne County across south-central Michigan as far west as Branch County.

"The demographics were far less favorable than they were today," he said. "Demographics typically change very slowly.

"But this base of operations, we at the LDC see this as an initiative to accelerate the effect on those demographics."

Getting involved

The office comes after the Livonia Democratic Club helped launch a coordinated campaign office last fall with the Hillary Clinton and Anil Kumar for Congress campaigns down on Plymouth Road, east of Middlebelt. That office saw several high-profile visitors, including actor Sean Astin and Anne Holton, wife of former vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine. But after the campaign was over in November, those offices closed, something that won't take place with this new office for the local party group.

"Once the election is over, they're not there anymore," he said.

Livonia has voted for a Republican for president all but once since 2000, the exception being when Barack Obama won the city in 2008. President Donald Trump won the city by more than 4,000 votes over Clinton in November's election and won more than 50 percent of the vote.

An office dedicated to Republican efforts has remained in Livonia for many years near Seven Mile and Farmington, hosting several political events. Those included campaign stops by former presidential candidates Marco Rubio and John Kasich during the last GOP primary cycle.

Livonia Democratic Club member Alex King said he's happy to see such an office open up for the club, especially after the past presidential election.

"I think it's important to have an office and a party infrastructure model for a place to get together," said King, a Livonia resident. "I know, obviously, the election didn't go the way we wanted it to, but I do think there's going to be a lot of people who will want to be getting involved."